Reinier de Ridder just got the biggest win of his career so far.
Ridder fought former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker in the main event and it was a pretty even match for the most part. This wasn’t particularly a war as Ridder mostly pressed Whittaker to the fence for attempted takedowns. Whittaker had his moments such as coming close to snagging the victory with a third round knockdown that came seconds away from a TKO. This was a hard fight to nail down as it was rather close on both sides, but Ridder ultimately got the split decision victory over Whittaker.
In the post-fight interview, Ridder praised his opponent for his toughness and he also called for the winner of Khamzat vs. Dricus.
"I don't want to fight like this, man. This guy was too tough. I want to finish a guy in the first round, it would be much better. So maybe [the winner of] Khamzat [vs.] Dricus next. Let's go, give me a chance to fight for that strap."
Dana White hasn’t responded to that possibility, though it’s not a crazy one since this is his fourth UFC fight and he got a huge win over a former Champion who’s still pretty good overall.
The co-main event saw Petr Yan outclass Marcus McGhee. This wasn’t a dominant fight as McGhee held his ground and got in some stiff shots throughout the rounds, but Petr’s experience was a major factor that helped him to execute his game plan to nearly perfection. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion is now on a three fight winning streak and Yan is also calling for a title shot next.
Check out the full results below:
Main Card
Middleweight: Reinier de Ridder def. Robert Whittaker via split decision
Bantamweight: Petr Yan def. Marcus McGhee via unanimous decision
Middleweight: Shara Magomedov def. Marc-Andre Barriault via unanimous decision
Flyweight: Asu Almabayev def. Jose Ochoa via unanimous decision
Light heavyweight: Bogdan Guskov def. Nikita Krylov via TKO (strikes) at 4:18 of R1
Prelims
Bantamweight: Bryce Mitchell def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision
Welterweight: Muslim Salikhov def. Carlos Leal via KO (punch) at :42 of R1
Bantamweight: Davey Grant def. Da’Mon Blackshear via unanimous decision
Women's strawweight: Tabatha Ricci def. Amanda Ribas via TKO (strikes) at 2:59 of R2
Light heavyweight: Billy Elekana def. Ibo Aslan via unanimous decision
Featherweight: Steven Nguyen def. Mohammad Yahya via doctor's stoppage at 5:00 of R2
Heavyweight: Martin Buday def. Marcus Buchecha via unanimous decision